Mind Your P's and Q's
by A.H.S. Stories
Summary: Tom goes undercover to catch a teacher crossing the line, but finds his life complicated by a student who crosses the line instead. -Finished chap 5 is PG-13 Review and pass it on to friends please. : I love knowing folks are reading.
1. Introductions

"Hanson, you're going in alone on this one." Fuller leaned over his desk and tossed the cop a folder containing the case brief and his cover info. " A coach over at Reardon High School, Craig Henderson, has been accused of sexual harassment by several students. Your job is to get close enough to watch how he interacts with the teams and see if there is any merit to the complaints. The administration over at Reardon doesn't want to jump the gun in case its just a few kids who got bad grades and want to get back at the guy by making him squirm."

"Penhall, Ioki, you're over at Sterling looking for a vandal/thief who's been going through faculty as well as student lockers. Keep your ears and eyes open and try and get yourselves into the halls during classes and after school since these guys like to hit then."

"Hoffs, you're backup for Hanson and get to be the face in uniform for the students who complained. Interview them outside of school, at their homes; get the whole story. If Tom doesn't get anywhere, we'll put you in there too, but only as a last resort. We're not looking for entrapment here, just verification of the stories we have."

"Everybody clear on their assignments?" Fuller glanced around as the officers looked into the case folders they had each been handed. Taking in the nods from each of them, he continued. "Okay then, you all start first thing tomorrow morning. Get out of here and be ready for early shifts. Dismissed."

* * *

"Lamontagne, Tessa?… Merril, Conrad…" Mrs. Barnes stood at the head of the class next to the too small desk and read down roll call; glancing up to check for hands and nods when no one answered her. "Richardson, Thomas…" She locked her gaze with his as she spoke. Her wire rimmed glasses softened her graying hair and combined with her petite frame and warm, soft tone to create and image that brought to mind the 50's moms on re-run television. "Welcome to United States History 201, I hope you will have no problem catching up this far into the term. Please feel free to see me with any questions you have." Wish a smile that truly reached her eyes, she quickly moved on to finish roll call and start the class. So far, it was the least disruptive introduction Tom had gotten from his teachers. It was his last class of the day and he fought to remain attentive to the class, despite the fact that besides law, it was the one subject he really could do in his sleep. Glancing around the class, he noticed one other student across the room with a similar expression on her face. He smiled briefly as their eyes met before bending over his desk to make a few cryptic notes on his day. It was a pity he had to sit through an entire day of classes before he could get to the track and his real purpose in the school, but he figured, at least he didn't have to work too hard at integrating himself into cliques, gangs or even establish himself as the school bad guy in order to get close to his target. He just had to do well in class, make the track team and hang out a lot around the coach for a week or so. Compared to some of his recent assignments, this was a breeze.

"Hey," Tom looked up from packing his backpack as the class shuffled out of the room free for the day at last.

"Hey back." He smiled at the girl he had noticed earlier as she approached his desk. Her wavy, brown hair fell just below her shoulders, the front of it was pulled back into a plain bar clip. Her hazel eyes had a sparkle to them that matched her outgoing smile. Dressed in decent jeans and a comfortable sweater, she balanced a small pile of books on her hip and draped a blue backpack across the other shoulder.

"Tessa, c'mon you slowpoke." Two heads popped around the doorway, causing Tessa to turn away from Tom and grin.

"I'll be right there…" she called back cheerfully.

"Anyways, I can't stay and chat, but I just wanted to welcome you to the school. I got here a year ago mid semester, so I know how tough it is to find your place."

"Tessa!" The holler came from the hall now, "Coach'll kill you if you're late!"

Sheepishly, Tessa smiled at Tom again, friendly but not gushy. She didn't send the message she was trying to pick him up; just that she was trying to be a friend.

"Sorry, gotta run." Expertly slinging her backpack over her shoulder, she took off out the door at a slow sprint.

Tom followed along behind the girls, taking his time so as not to freak them out. If they were headed to practice, then he knew where he needed to be. Plus, by hanging back a bit he'd have a much better chance of overhearing anything the coach may say to the girls that he might censor if he knew one of the guys was around.

"Richardson, eh." Tom stood still while the coach looked him up and down. "I don't usually accept new team members this late in the season son," he paused, observing for a moment to see the cop's reaction. Tom didn't even twitch an eyelash. If the coach wasn't going to let him on the team, he knew they wouldn't be standing here while to guy worked his "magic" and "graciously allowed" him on the team so he would feel grateful. Tom wasn't about to let himself get manipulated that way. Obviously, the coach liked what he saw, because he smiled a bit before continuing. "However, I read the letter your coach from John Adams sent over and I'm pretty sure you'd fit in alright. The next meet is in six days, so get out there and start your warm-ups with the rest of the team." He hooked his thumb towards the door as he spoke and stepped aside to let Tom pass when he was through.

Tom jogged lightly out to the track field where he could see both the guys and girls track, about twenty people all told, sprawled out together doing warm ups. Since there didn't appear to be any separation between the teams at this point, he headed for a spot on the grass near the first person he recognized.

"Hey again… Tessa, right?" he said as he grabbed a hold of his foot and leaned in to the ground.

Momentarily startled, she looked up and smiled again as she continued her exercises. "Yeah… I didn't know you were in track; obviously you didn't have too much trouble finding the coach. Now I don't feel so bad about bolting off earlier."

"I've been running since eighth grade." Tom told her, carefully leaving out the fact that that particular piece of trivia meant he'd been running for almost fifteen years. Of course, he thought as he stifled a grimace, he hadn't been doing it as much or as often during the last five years, not unless some punk decided to bolt at the last minute.

"Me too," Tessa replied. "I…"

"Tessa…" a girl's voice to Tessa's left interrupted them. "Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?"

"Oops," Tessa leaned back so Tom could see the face of the girl. He recognized her as being one of the girl's who'd picked Tessa up after class. "Sorry Amy. Tom, this is Amy Lane. Amy, Tom Richardson. He just transferred in."

"Hi Tom…" Amy's smile and singsong voice spoke volumes as she gave him the once over. "If you need help with anything, I'd be more than happy to help you out."

Tom fought back a blush at her boldness and was about to reply when the coach's voice cut through telling the teams to move on to laps.

"Boys," he called out loudly to the group, "No lagging behind to appreciate the view," he grinned slightly as he spoke. " And you girls, be sure to keep ahead and give those boys some motivation."

Tom raised an eyebrow mentally and settled into a slow, even pace as they circled around the track, running just in between and slightly ahead of Tessa and Amy.

"So Tess, we're still on for movies tonight at my place right?" Amy spoke loudly as she worked to keep her breathing regular while she ran.

"Wouldn't miss if for the world, you know that." Tessa replied, equally breathless. "What kind of best friend for eight years would I be otherwise?" She laughed and picked up her pace, passing Tom and forcing Amy to follow suit in order for the two to keep talking.

Tom heard their conversation, but didn't think much of it as he used the time doing laps to review his mental notes on Coach Henderson. So far, the guy had made three comments towards the girls on the team in general; but he didn't seem to have any one person he was favoring in the group. Plus, while inflammatory and unnecessary his remarks were still relatively benign in nature. Regardless, Tom decided, the man was an authority figure to the girls and shouldn't be shooting his mouth off around them, or towards them, that way. Maybe with a little luck, he'd only have to spend a few more days undercover here before he had enough to finalize a report on the guy for Fuller to present to the school so any warranted action could be taken on the complaints.

Lost in thought, Tom didn't notice a guy step onto the track. Bouncing to avoid falling over as he dodged, Tom narrowly missed crashing into him. Tom stopped in the middle of the track, prepared to say something, when Tessa spoke up from behind him.


	2. Confrontations

"Keith," Tessa scolded with a smile, "what are you doing here? You know coach doesn't like interruptions during practice…"

"Glad to see you too Tess," the burly guy didn't even crack a smile as he took her arm and drew her up against him. "Can't a guy come visit his girlfriend every once and a while?"

Sighing, Tessa smiled faintly. "What do you want, honey?" she asked, anxiously eyeballing the coach as he took notice from the other side of the field and started to make his way over; her cheerful tone sounding somewhat forced now.

"Me and the guys are going out his evening to catch a movie, maybe stop by a club. I'll be by around seven to pick you up." Keith reached out his finger to touch her lips as she began to protest, "And don't say you've got plans or you're too busy. What could be more important than spending some time with your main squeeze?" He moved his hand to draw her head closer to his and kissed her firmly on the mouth just as the coach arrived on his heels.

"Stowe!" The man barked gruffly. "I don't care how good a wrestler you are for me, I want you off my field during any practice that's not yours. You know the rules. No distractions, no disruptions. Now move it!"

"Okay, okay Coach."

Keith flashed a grin at the guy before he turned back to Tessa, "Don't forget, seven o'clock sharp. And be ready. I'm not taking no as an answer." Keith turned on his heel as the words left his mouth, his eyes hardening as he met Tessa's increasingly irritated gaze before he flashed another smile at the group and jogged off back towards the gym.

"And Lamontagne," Coach Henderson continued, "In the future; if you would please make your plans for hot dates anywhere but my track." Annoyance crept into his voice for a moment before he glanced down at his watch and blew the silver whistle dangling from his neck.

"All right everybody, that's it for today," he hollered across the track to the clusters of students who had stopped still at the shrill sound. "Get your sweaty selves into the showers and go home. Next practice is day after tomorrow."

The man turned and marched back to the gym behind the quickly retreating team members, while Tom and Tessa remained standing on the track. Amy jogged easily over to join them.

"Ames," Tessa began as she got close enough to hear, "I'm sorry. I'm gonna have to cancel tonight; something's come up."

Hurt, Amy's cheerful expression turned angry as she confronted her friend before storming back to the locker room.

"You know Tess, you don't have to do everything that JERK tells you to. I swear, since you started going out with him, you haven't had a say in your free time at all. And, you haven't had any time for your friends. There are other people who care about you and want to see you too you know!"

Her hot words stung Tessa and Tom held back from the two as her shoulders sagged in momentary defeat before she too headed, albeit at a much slower pace, towards the gym.

Tom's brow furrowed slightly over the exchange he'd witnessed, first with Keith and then the resulting blow up with Amy. It wasn't his place to say anything… yet… but it sure seemed to him that Keith was not the greatest guy for Tessa to be hanging around with.

* * *

The next day, affectionately nicknamed "Tiresome Tuesday" by some of the students, Mrs. Barnes was out sick and the class had Coach Henderson as a substitute. Silence, or something close to it, reigned as he turned the time into a study hall and busied himself with correction papers from his own class, virtually ignoring the room full of students until the noise level got out of control. Then, he wouldn't even glance up but would raise his voice above the din and tell the class to "keep it down people, keep it down."

Tom took advantage of the apparent lack of assigned seating to grab the seat next to Tessa. "Hey Tessa," he said cheerfully as he sat down, "how was the movie last night?"

Noticing the confusion cross her fact at his question he clarified. "I couldn't help but hear Keith's _invitation_ after I nearly mowed him down." Tom purposefully put a little extra emphasis, laced with a touch of sarcasm, into the word "invitation" and was pleased to notice the point didn't go unnoticed by Tessa.

"_Amy_ and I had a great girl's night," she replied with a faint smile; placing equally increased emphasis, less the sarcasm, on "Amy". "I'm sure Keith had a perfectly fine night with his friends too."

The two of them chatted on and off for the rest of the period, pausing only to pack up their stuff or resume "silence" when Coach hollered at no one in particular. Having a substitute in your last period class was just as bad as waiting for Friday to end. When the bell did finally go off, most of the class had scrambled out the door before the two of them had even stood up.

"So," Tom began, as he noticed her lingering in the room, "since there's no practice today, d'ya need a ride home?"

"That's okay Tom, Amy's…" Tessa was cut off from replying as Keith's booming voice filled the room.

"Just what the hell do you think you were doing standing me up last night!" Red faced, Keith had bypassed irritated and gone straight to irate.

Unconsciously, Tessa took half a step back before drawing herself up, arms ramrod straight at her sides, eyes flashing with equal intensity as she replied.

"You don't own me Keith Stowe, I'm not some puppet at your beck and call. If I have plans already made with a friend, I'm not going to drop everything just because you dictate it."

She paused momentarily to draw in a deep breath before continuing, cutting him off before he could retort.

"And, if you think I am, then maybe I made a mistake when I said I'd go out with you."

"Well, maybe you'd better do as you told so you don't make any more mistakes." Keith moved closer to Tessa, reaching out to grab her arm as he spoke. Wary, Tom moved closer, prepared to pull them apart if necessary, but holding back to see how far things would get.

"STOWE!" The call came loud and harsh across the room, cutting through the tension and hitting the wrestler's subconscious, bring him back in control of himself just a fraction more. All three students turned and looked at Coach Henderson as he stood behind the desk. His posture was tense, poised, yet completely in control.

"Practice, Mr. Stowe," he continued, his eyes locked with the burly student's who's arm was still poised mid-air, extended towards Tessa's, "began as soon as the bell rang. I suggest you don't make yourself any later than you already are."

The intensity behind the words and their intended purpose were not missed by any of the three students. Tom watched, still standing several feet back from Tessa as Keith's outstretched hand trembled ever so slightly for a second before he closed his fingers into a fist with a snap and, with visible effort, brought his arm back to his side. His eyes broke away from the coach's and he locked his gaze with Tessa's once more. Stone cold fury still radiated from his thin veneer of self-control.

"This isn't over," he hissed through clenched teeth, before spinning on his heel and storming out of the classroom, closely followed by the Coach. The man glanced at Tessa as he left the room, nodding his head slightly as he caught her gaze, but saying nothing.

"Yes it is!" Tessa called firmly at his retreating figure as they crossed the doorjamb. The whole incident had happened so fast, Tom wasn't even sure Keith had realized there had been more people than Tessa in the room. He'd only noticed the coach when the man had intervened, the surprise that had flashed across his face had proved that much, so Tom would have almost bet the jock hadn't even noticed the cop's presence either. He certainly hadn't acknowledged him at all if he had. Anger, he decided, definitely had tunnel vision.


	3. Conflicts

Seeing Tessa still standing, statue-like, eyes fixed on the front of the room where Keith had exited, Tom moved to stand right beside her. He reached out his hand to gently touch her forearm as he spoke.

"Are you okay?" He took in her face carefully as she spun around to face him, temporary surprise clear on her face. Yup. She'd forgotten he was there.

"Yeah, I'm uh… fine." She stumbled on the words as she hastily tried to cram her last book into her backpack. Dropping it, she failed miserably at concealing how shook up she was.

"Right…" Tom dragged out the word a bit, his tone soft and slightly teasing; putting his hand out to stop her as he bent to pick up the book. "Are you sure you don't need a ride home? It's not a problem." He held the book out to her, only releasing his grip when she met his concerned gaze; his dark eyes serious, yet warm.

"No, really, it's okay. I'm going out after school with…"

"Slowpoke!" the teasing tones of Amy filtered into the room causing both students to turn towards the doorway. Lounging against the doorjamb, Amy snapped her gum as she grinned and continued, her voice even more playful, "Oooh, I'm not _interrupting_ anything am I?" Her eyes danced for a moment until she saw the somber expression on Tessa's face.

"Hey, what's going on here?" She began, an inquisitive yet accusatory tone creeping into her voice as she took in her best friend and then turned her gaze on Tom.

"Ames, relax. He was just helping me out. Keith totally blew his stack after class; I thought he was going to lose it completely before coach called him off. I… I broke it off with him." Tessa hastily filled her friend in on the details, her voice becoming stronger as she reached the end of the sentence, her mind pulling away from reliving the encounter.

Amy's eyebrows drew together and her eyes narrowed at the news. "I knew I didn't like that guy. Good for you. God, if I'd been here, I would have taken a swing at him myself. Good think coach was around… why was coach here?" She glanced around the room and saw the substitute notes on the board. "Oh, never mind." She mumbled before turning back to Tessa.

"C'mon. Sounds like you need another girl's night. We'll hit the mall, you can stay for dinner, and maybe the night my mom won't care, you know that."

Any protests Tessa may have had were drowned out by her best friend's chatter as she draped her arm around her shoulders and steered her out of the room, casting a nod and a glance to Tom as they left.

"Good to see 'ya Richardson," Amy called over her shoulder as they left.

Relieved that Tessa had such a good best friend, and considerably less concerned about her well being, Tom gathered up his stuff and headed out towards his car. Time for an update with Fuller he decided. He was more than ready to escape the turmoil of High School for just a few more hours and remind himself that he was a grown adult doing a job.

* * *

Wednesday went by with very little hurrah. Tessa was happily chattering away with Amy all through practice and the coach was right on par with his comments. Still, he was right on the line. Tom had heard a lot of talk from the man, but hadn't seen much to indicate it would go beyond just that. It was hard for him to tell, even trained and focused as he was, whether the long gazes and appraising stares the man cast at the runners were anything more than signs of attentive coaching.

"A couple more days," Tom decided. Then, he'd give Fuller his final report. His boss had already made it clear he expected an update at the end of the week. He'd go back Monday if the man wanted him to, but he had a feeling it would just be a waste of time.

Registering the whistle in the back of his mind, Tom stopped his running and turned to face Coach Henderson with the rest of the teams.

"All right everybody, listen up." Henderson addressed the group with his usual gruff intensity. "The big meets in three days. You've all worked really hard and I'm proud of you." His voice softened a bit as he spoke, giving the team a glimpse of a side of the man they respected that they didn't get to see very often.

"Anyway, some Sob's would reach this point and push you even harder to try and get perfection. I may not have learned much in 20 years of marriage, but the six months before my divorce taught me that approach doesn't work. So, I want you to take care of yourselves these next few days. Don't stop practicing, but we're not going to have any more formal drills before Saturday. You haven't been a major disappointment yet," here the coach regained some of his gruffness, "so, you sure has hell better not start now." He glanced across the teams, meeting the gaze of every student. Nodding in approval of what he saw, and the expressions he was getting, he finished his speech. "All right everybody, get outta here."

Energized, the teammates began to jog off the field. Somehow, Tom had the impression that every single one of them would follow the Coach's instructions. It was odd. For every part of the man that was inflammatory, there was another part that managed to inspire and motivate the student body. Hell, even Tom wanted to go out and win a medal for Reardon High School.

* * *

"Go home Stowe," Tom's ears perked up as he heard the coach speaking to the wrestler in the hallway just outside the men's locker room. "Have one of your parent's beers, read a playboy, do whatever it is you need to do to get her off your mind, but don't let me catch you around her on an afternoon when you're not scheduled to practice, you understand?" The gruff firmness in the man's voice gave Tom the impression Coach Henderson would do just about anything to keep the wrestler from staying. Tom had a pretty good idea who the "her" was that the man had referred to. He was glad Tessa and Amy had already left practice straight from the field and headed off to the mall or something. Keith obviously was having a bit of a problem accepting things between the two of them were over. Coach seemed to be taking care of it though, at least for the time being.

Dragging his mind back to work, Tom finished dressing quickly and headed off school grounds to his car. He couldn't quite shake a foreboding feeling deep in his stomach though. Heading his car on the highway, he mingled in the afternoon rush hour traffic as he heading towards his apartment before exiting at the last minute to head to the Chapel. Fuller would give him a good idea if he were being paranoid or not. As much as he trusted Doug, his best bud and occasional partner in crime wasn't around at the moment, and he already knew what Hoffs would say. No, in the months since Fuller had taken over, Tom had developed enough of a rapport with his boss so he felt he could walk into the office and get this extra dynamic in the case off his chest. He may be a cop, but at the moment, he was feeling as confused as the student he was pretending to be.

Amy and Tessa had left right after class the next day. Tessa had talked to him a little about the meet on Saturday, but hadn't said anything about Keith. In fact, he hadn't seen Keith around all day. Fuller had told him to try and get a little closer to the kid so he could get a better feel for if he was just jilted or if he'd crossed the line into obsessed. He'd given him 'till the end of the week to resolve things for himself since they'd pretty much wrapped up the investigation with Coach Henderson. Judy had finished interviewing the girls who'd complained and their stories matched what Tom had seen. The guy said a lot he shouldn't; but he hadn't touched any of them inappropriately. He seemed like a basically good guy who needed a little jolt into the post-feminist movement world of political correctness. That wasn't exactly how they'd word the report to the school principal, but Friday after classes, it was the gist of the document he'd sign and leave with Fuller.

Wrestling practice was this afternoon, so Tom headed towards the Men's locker room about twenty minutes after the final bell rang. He'd stopped by his locker and ditched his class stuff, exchanging it for his gym gear. He'd change and do a few laps around the track so he had a reasonable excuse for being there if Coach said anything. He was just keeping in shape for the meet if anyone asked.

As Tom rounded the corner into the locker room, he was surprised to see Keith pulling his wrestling gear over his head quickly and heading out the door towards the mat room. "Hey man," Tom called good-naturedly, joking almost, "Don't let coach see you sneaking in late to practice."

Grinning, the wrestler glanced over his shoulder briefly before heading out the door, "couldn't help it man, " he called out slightly frustrated, "stupid English teacher kept me for detention."

Tom sighed as he changed into his running gear leisurely. The locker room was deserted, and he couldn't hear a thing through the cement walls, even though her knew the wrestlers were two rooms down the hall in the athletic corridor of the school, just off the gym.

Pushing open the side door, he stepped out onto the grass and headed towards the track field. Closing his eyes, he enjoyed the feel of the warm spring air and the bone warming rays of the sun on his face. He was about three quarters of the way around the track when he noticed a figure step from the tree line up ahead, dressed in running gear as well.

For a fleeting moment, Tom figured it was just part of a couple who'd been sneaking off for a quick cuddle in the woods until he got closer and noticed the person looked like they'd fallen out of one of the trees instead. Stopping his jog abruptly and moving closer, he reached out his hand to touch the figure's shoulder. It was a girl's he noticed as he could see the figure up close.

"Hey, are you…" he trailed off as the girl started violently and tried to run away. Her steps were uneven and as she half turned to glance at him, terror overtaking her eyes, he cringed in recognition.


	4. Concerns

"Tessa, wait," he called, sprinting the few yards between them and wrapping his arms around her from behind, bodily restraining her as she fought him, weakly kicking as she cried out.

"NO! NO! Let me go!"

Tom forced her around so he could see her face. "Tessa, stop! It's me, Tom…" he paused as she stilled, staring straight into his eyes with a frighteningly vacant intensity. Recognition spread faintly across her features as she stilled in his grasp.

"I'm not going to hurt your," Tom finished softly, slowly releasing her shoulders; stepping back just a hair. His gut told him not to move back too far since she looked about as steady and secure as a leaf clinging to a branch at the last days of autumn. One good, stiff breeze and she'd come tumbling down. "What happened?" Tom pried carefully again. He had his hunches, his fears more like it, but he needed to hear it from her.

Tessa looked at him blankly, her eyes flashing with terror for a moment as she thought about the question. Her lips parted slightly, then closed as she blinked slowly and began to turn away from him, intent on walking back to the gym.

"I've gotta go shower," she slurred. Her voice weak and the words dragged out.

She made it three or four steps before she swayed as her knees buckled. Tom just managed to catch her before she hit the ground hard. His gut did a somersault though as he watched her head snap back sharply before he could reach up and support it. Cursing to himself, he lowered her to the ground and checked for a pulse and to see if she was still breathing. Satisfied she had just lost consciousness, he looked desperately across the field for anyone else around. Thankfully, he spied a couple of freshmen heading out the side door to cut through the track to get to the student parking lot.

"Go get an ambulance!" he hollered to them, and was pleased to see the turned and went back into the school right away.

Looking down again at Tessa, he felt the knot in his gut tighten as he took in the array of scrapes and cuts across her arms and legs. The already darkening red marks around her wrist and the clear imprint of a fist along her right cheek confirmed his suspicions. A bluish red bruise was just starting to settle under her right eye. Lacking a backpack or even a jacket, he sat down next to her and gently laid her lower legs across his lap in the hopes the elevation would help her wake up.

Tom kept a constant dialogue going with Tessa, telling her to wake up and that it was going to be okay now. He kept talking when the students he'd flagged down returned with the school nurse, the principal and whoever else had been in the office or halls when they'd come dashing in. Then he'd stopped talking and allowed himself to be led away with the other students. The principal had allowed him to call his "dad" privately before he'd detained him for almost half an hour while he got Tom's story. He didn't break his cover once and was planning on going to the hospital as soon as he got out when he realized he'd never found out which one the ambulance had taken her to. He remembered hearing them leave, siren going, about ten minutes after he'd arrived in the principal's office, just after he'd gotten off the phone with Fuller. Sighing, he turned his car towards the chapel and sped off. He only marginally managed to avoid a speeding ticket as his worry began to creep up on him in the down time he had during the ten-minute drive from Reardon High School.

* * *

"Which hospital did they take her too?" Tom burst into Fuller's office, ignoring the rule to announce himself. This time, Fuller didn't seem to mind. He looked as if he'd been expecting it actually. He narrowed his eyes slightly however and spoke into the telephone receiver briefly before hanging up and addressing Tom.

"I just got off the phone with Hoffs. She's going to be the face in uniform for this," he began, putting up his hand as he saw the officer begin to protest. "You're too close right now Hanson, and you're already working one case there. You can't move on this one without blowing your cover."

The captain paused as he watched the younger officer consider his words. He could tell the instant the man had found the truth in them because he moved from his place standing, tense, in the middle of the office, to sitting in one of the chairs in front of Fuller's desk. Hands clasping the arms of the chair, Tom leaned back, then forward again, as he met his CO's gaze and worked to reign in his emotion and focus on the job.

"Okay," he finally spoke, his voice low and slightly less intense, less desperate. "So what do we do now?"

"We wait." Fuller's first words in answer caused Tom to squirm in his chair, but he remained silent, allowing his boss to continue and complete his statement and outline their plan of action.

"Hoffs is going to phone back with a status report of Tessa Lamontagne's condition. Then we hear Tessa's statement as soon as she's able to give it to Hoffs. You study for whatever test your teachers have planned for you tomorrow, get so rest and go back in there in the morning. Back burner the coach unless he's a suspect and keep your eyes and ears open for anybody looking to own up to this afternoon." Fuller paused momentarily to allow Tom to process the plan a bit before he continued, "in the meantime, since I know you're not going to go home and twiddle your thumbs get over to your desk and get the report on Coach Henderson written up. I'll let you know as soon as I hear from Officer Hoffs."

Fuller looked sharply at Hanson, gauging the man's reaction to the plan. He nodded slightly in approval as the younger man nodded his head in agreement before standing up and exiting the office to his desk. For the time being, Fuller decided, his resident loose cannon was contained.

* * *

Tom was so intent on the report he was typing he didn't hear Fuller's phone ring once then silence. He didn't hear the low conversation his superior had and didn't hear the frustrated sigh the man allowed to escape as he just barely refrained from slamming down the phone receiver.

Thus, the sound of his superior's voice calling him abruptly caused Officer Hanson to startle as he slid the carriage of the typewriter back home and yanked the completed document from the machine. Moving quickly around his desk, somehow managing to avoid smashing his knees into the piece of furniture, Tom marched back into Fuller's office – not bothering to close the door behind him as he moved into the room.

Glancing up at the wall, Tom found to his surprise that it was after six o'clock. He hadn't even noticed as the chapel staff had slowly filtered out for the day until he'd stood up and taken in the empty station. He'd been more distracted than he thought apparently, since a report that normally would have taken him about an hour to get typed up properly had taken him almost three.

"Hanson," the younger officer snapped his attention back into reality as Fuller spoke again, softer this time as he watched the man in front of him once again stand frozen momentarily in the middle of the office until he'd collected his thoughts. Fuller waited until Tom had sat down, in the same chair as earlier, placing the report on his desk as he did.

"Yes, sir," the officer replied, his focus tuning in intently on his boss, "any news from Judy?"

"According to the attending physician in the Emergency Room, Miss Lamontagne sustained multiple injuries consistent with a serious beating," Fuller didn't mince his words as he spoke, but instead jumped straight into the promised briefing. "Two broken ribs, an assortment of cuts and bruises, he knocked out one of he molars with a blow to the face but managed not to break any of her facial bones by some miracle. She's got a minor concussion and they're keeping her for observation since she keeps lapsing in and out of consciousness. He…"

"He, sir?" Hanson interrupted Fuller for a moment, feeling for the last detail that he lacked. None of the evidence he had seen could have been attributed exclusively to a male attacker… Unless.

"Yes Hanson, He. Miss Lamontagne was also sexually assaulted. Luckily she didn't make it to the shower like you said she wanted to. They were able to collect a substantial amount of evidence according to Officer Hoffs. She's staying at the hospital until Miss Lamontagne regains consciousness long enough to give a statement." Fuller paused here, allowing the information to settle in Hanson's mind. He watched, carefully, as the officer looked first livid, then hurt, then oddly neutral as he reigned in his emotions for the unnumbered time that day.

"So, what exactly do I do tomorrow?" He asked slowly.

"You go in same as before, and keep your eyes and ears open. I'm going to check out Keith's story about detention and track down the coach to pinpoint the kid's whereabouts today after class. I'll find a way to meet up with you and compare notes. Hopefully we'll have a report from Hoffs by then with a positive I.D. I really want to make an arrest on this one as soon as possible, and people's memories will be soft by the time the weekend's over."

Tom nodded and sat for a moment before moving to stand up, "Is that all Coach?"

Getting a distracted nod from Fuller, Tom rose and moved towards the open doorway.

"Oh, and Hanson," the man's voice called him back just before he reached the doorjamb. "You might want to sign this." Fuller gestured to the report Tom had placed on his desk. His eyes twinkled a bit as he watched the officer return and sign the report. He was pleased to see a small grin beginning to form on the officer's lips before he said goodnight and heading out of the chapel.

Fuller sat back at his desk and paused to recollect his thoughts. Hanson smiling was a good thing. He knew the younger man took it more personally when a girl had been assaulted or abused. There was a bit of old-fashioned gentlemen that lurked beneath the tough guy rebel that was Hanson's persona. He didn't doubt for one minute that Tom would grab onto every piece of information he could get the next day. He only hoped that if Tom figured out who the guy was for sure, that he didn't break the bastard's nose in the process of bringing him in.

* * *

Tom sat in Mrs. Barnes' class, growing increasingly frustrated. All day he'd tried to get a lead on what had happened to Tessa and had come up with nothing. Either nobody knew anything had happened, or faculty had put the fear of god into the small crowd of people who had been there after school and had seen the ambulance. The more he thought about it, Tessa wasn't in the know popular faces category and it had been fairly late after school. In a big school like Reardon, there could very well be no talk at all about the incident and it wouldn't be unusual. That really ticked him off the more he thought about it. It made it seem like the jerk had gotten away with it.

Tom found himself growing caught in thought and didn't notice lecture had stopped until Mrs. Barnes called his name a second time. "Thomas, Mr. Donnovan would like to see you." Ignoring the looks from the other students, Tom gathered his stuff and exited the classroom. Waiting in the hall, just past the classroom door, the Principal stood, his face somber.


	5. Resolutions

"Thomas, the police are here in my office. They'd like to ask you some more questions about what happened with Miss Lamontagne yesterday. You're not required to speak to them alone, son…" the principal paused, giving Tom an inquisitive look as they walked the halls leading back to his office.

"It's all right Mr. Donnovan," Tom assured the man without breaking his stride, "I've got nothing to hid from them, I can meet with the cops on my own."

"Very well, Thomas." The two men reached the office door and Mr. Donnovan opened it, ushering Tom in as she spoke to the officer who stood, in uniform, facing the window. "Here he is officer," the man announced, "you have the use of my office for as long as you need it." Casting once last side-glance at Tom, the principal turned and walked out of the room, closing the office door firmly behind him.

"All right Hanson," Fuller spoke, not even turning from the window," Ya got anything for me?"

"No, sir," Tom spoke, his voice betraying the frustration he had kept concealed throughout the day. "Either nobody's stupid enough to rat somebody out or nobody has a clue what happened." He paused as he crossed the room and placed both hands on the back of one of the chairs in front of the principal's desk. "Frankly, I'm betting on the latter." He stared at the seat cushion as Fuller turned around and walked over to him. Tom cast his gaze upward when his boss stood before him, surprised to see as smile on the man's face. Confused, he cocked his head to the side slightly, silently prodding for more information.

"I got off the phone with Hoffs just before I got here," Fuller began, "Tessa woke up long enough to I.D. her attacker this morning. She's still pretty out of it, but more than willing to press charges. You get one guess who our guy is." His eyes twinkled briefly as he shared the news.

"Lemme guess…" Tom spoke, an almost gleeful tone creeping into the words as he did, "Keith didn't have detention after school yesterday."

"Keith didn't have detention after school yesterday. Just wrestling practice for today's match that Coach Henderson confirms he was nearly twenty minutes late for." Fuller confirmed the officer's conclusion. "And, he skipped his last period class to boot. He must have gone out and waited for her, knowing she'd take extra practice time for the track meet whenever she could."

The two men quickly slipped into cop mode as they discussed the plan to find Keith and bring him in as soon as possible. Fuller had a cruiser out in front of the school but didn't want Keith to see a uniformed cop coming int. All they needed was for the guy to get skidding and bolt in the middle of the school day and they'd have one very big scene. The was a cop waiting at the kid's house in case he' cut out of school early, but the bet was that Tom would be able to find him around the gym department after school and arrest him on his way to the match. This way, it was less public, less fuss and easier to control if he tried to bolt. Hanson nodded as they worked out the last details of the plan and checked that his standard issue handcuffs were easily accessible before giving a mock salute as he walked out of the office.

"Wish me luck," he said as he glanced at the clock, "see ya in about… fifteen minutes."

Fuller smiled and nodded, waving the principle back into the office to brief the man as the "student" he'd been interviewing exited the office. Tom entered the hallway outside the office and headed purposefully, but not too quickly towards the men's locker room. Glancing at his watch he noticed he just had enough time to get situated there before the bell rang to end the school day.

* * *

Tom stood in the men's locker room, half behind an open locker, as he waited for Keith to show up. About half of the wrestling team, five or six guys all told, were already there chatting busily as they psyched themselves up for the meet. The coach had long since departed the room heading for the mat room to make sure all the last minute preparations were done. Several conversations flowed through the room, but Tom's attention spiked as eh finally heard, for the first time that day, Tessa's name being brought up.

"… So, looks like Tessa's off the market again," one voice cracked forlornly.

"Yeah, Keith said she and him made up yesterday. She apologized for being such a bitch or something," Tom craned his head around the corner of the locker, his eyes honing in on the grinning jock who'd uttered the phrase that irritated him exponentially. "I heard the make-up session went great; isn't that right, Keith?"

As the wrestler came into view, his buddy clapped him on the shoulder, looking for confirmation to the locker room rumor.

"Screaming and moaning for me the whole time," Keith confirmed, a boastful tone in his voice as he reached for his wrestling uniform in his locker.

Barely suppressing the rage that bubbled inside hi, Tom moved quickly to approach the wrestler, stopping to stand just beside him as he reached for his badge.

"You now Keith," he began, "A gentleman never tells." He flashed his badge right in Keith's face, a wholehearted grin spreading across his face as he continued, "You're under arrest."

Taking advantage of the Jock's total surprise and lack of resistance, Tom grabbed his arm and spun him into the locker, cuffing one hand and bringing the second down as the teen sputtered out his retort.

"For what!" he managed to sound indignant even in the middle of the shock.

"For the attack and sexual assault of Tessa Lamontagne yesterday on the Track field before practice." Tom spat out the words as he fined cuffing Keith and began to read him his rights as he ushered the still dazed kid out of the locker room and down the hall to the main entrance where Fuller and a uniform in a squad car were waiting to drag his sorry butt to jail. Not one of Keith's teammates moved as they exited the room.

"Hey man," Tom heard one say to the room, "That is so not cool."

"And he was telling everybody they got back together," a second voice added. "What a loser."

Feeling a hell of a lot better about justice in the world, Tom smiled as he walked the jilted ex out of the building and into the waiting squad car. He found he couldn't agree more with the guys in the locker room this time, what a loser.

FINI


End file.
